Card scraper vs cabinet scraper?

[Sam Rain]

Hey guys,

I was wondering what's the key differences between a card scraper and a cabinet scraper? Isn't a cabinet scraper just a card scraper with handles and natural bow of the scraper?

On my next project, I am going to join some boards to make a table top and am going to use a scraper to eliminate glue and joints lines. But I would always use a sander and I wanted to know what would be a better purchase and what's easier to work with?

[Sam Yerardi]

They are essentially the same thing except a card will obviously let you get into areas that a scraper plane or a scraper such as a Stanley 80 can't get to. I sharpen both the same and use both. On large surfaces you can't beat an 80. Trying to do it with a scraper card will work but you will eventually burn your fingers/thumbs. Been there done that.

In answer to your question, get a Stanley 80 and learn to use it. It will make a believer of you. And the individual cards are so inexpensive I'd get a couple in different shapes.

[Robert Rozaieski]

Cabinet scraper has a thumbscrew to adjust the bow of the scraper as well but the main difference is the sole of the cabinet scraper. It provides a flat reference similar to a smooth plane and will help with flat surfaces like table tops. Card scrapers can also be used on table tops and are more versatile but a cabinet scraper will give you a flatter surface. Card scrapers are also prefered in tighter areas where a cabinet scraper cannot reach. I use my card scrapers all the time but rarely grab for the cabinet scraper.

[Greg Cole]

Card scrapers are the best moeny you can spend on a small item, they are priceless if you ask me. Buy one of the 4 piece sets with some contoured ones & you'll find yourself using them more than MANY other tools. If you don't like the heat or "umph" needed to hold one for long usages buy one of the Veritas scraper holders to save the thumbs... the heat doesn't bother me much but the bending & holding it bent does. The scraper holder is worth it if you don't want to buy the scraping plane (plus you can still maneuver the Vertias holder in many little spaces etc), you can adjust the bow in the scraper with a small screw too.
I was close to buying the larger LN version of the cabinet scraper but flinched and never did pull the trigger for the simplicity of being able to do basically the same thing without the plane body. You only give up the sole of the plane for but get all the other benefits for alot less $.

My $0.02

Greg

[Sam Rain]

Yeah, that's the thing. with table tops I would think a cabinet scraper would be ideal. Cuz guys I never used a card scraper in my life, so i'm guessing it would take some touch and finesse to really get good results.

But oh well i'll get both cuz they're not so expensive. Thanks so much for your replies!

[Hank Knight]

Sam,

I think the terminology has gotten a little mixed up in some of the responses. A Stanley #80, or its Vertias cousin, holds a thin blade like a card scraper. It looks like a spokeshave. It's a good step up from a bare-bones card scraper because it helps maintain an overall flat surface and is easier on the hands in use. As others have pointed out, it gives up a little versatility to the card scraper in return for these advantages. A scraper plane, on the other hand is a much more substantial tool with a plane-like body that holds a scraper blade that is much thicker than a card scraper or a #80 cabinet scraper blade. It operates like a plane and produces a much more consistently flat surface than either a card scraper or a cabinet scraper. They are great for large surfaces and really gnarly wood. In between a cabinet scraper and a scraper plane is a Stanley # 12 or a #12 1/2. They resemble a cabinet scraper on steroids with a turned wooden handle and a flat base that is much larger than a #80 base. They hold a larger, more substantial blade than a #80, but less thick than a scraper plane blade. They are used in the same manner as a cabinet scraper and cover large surfaces quickly.

[Sam Rain]

Sam,

I think the terminology has gotten a little mixed up in some of the responses. A Stanley #80, or its Vertias cousin, holds a thin blade like a card scraper. It looks like a spokeshave. It's a good step up from a bare-bones card scraper because it helps maintain an overall flat surface and is easier on the hands in use. As others have pointed out, it gives up a little versatility to the card scraper in return for these advantages. A scraper plane, on the other hand is a much more substantial tool with a plane-like body that holds a scraper blade that is much thicker than a card scraper or a #80 cabinet scraper blade. It operates like a plane and produces a much more consistently flat surface than either a card scraper or a cabinet scraper. They are great for large surfaces and really gnarly wood. In between a cabinet scraper and a scraper plane is a Stanley # 12 or a #12 1/2. They resemble a cabinet scraper on steroids with a turned wooden handle and a flat base that is much larger than a #80 base. They hold a larger, more substantial blade than a #80, but less thick than a scraper plane blade. They are used in the same manner as a cabinet scraper and cover large surfaces quickly.

Well that makes things less complicated. (joking)

Well I see what you mean about the scraper planes, I just hit woodcraft's site and saw a lie nielsen scraper plane. They look way more solid and ridgid, but with a thicker or bigger scraper blade my question is: will that remove a little more wood than a shaving almost is if you were planning the wood? Doesn't matter much, just wondering...

[Sam Yerardi]

A thicker blade will help with 'chatter' (especially when planing hard unruly grain), and it will need sharpening a little less often. I plan to get a scraper plane but so far I've been able to do everything I need (period furniture) with just a hand scraper and a Stanley 80. Note that with a Stanley 80 the blade is typically sharpened like a plane blade, and not like you would sharpen a regular hand scraper.

[Hank Knight]

I have a LN scraper plane, but I seldom use it. It is capable of removing a thicker shaving than a #80, but I think the purpose is to remove as little as possible to get a finished surface. The flattening that requires thick shavings is done with a bench plane before the final scraping operation; but as always there are exceptions. I made my bench top from a Bally Block maple lamination. When I flattened it with bench planes, I got a fair amount of tear out. The LN scraper plane came to the rescue. It took fairly thick shavings (as compared to card scraper shavings) until I got rid of the tear out. Then I adjusted it for a really fine cut for the finished surface which it handled with ease - no tearout. The weight of the plane and the thickness of the blade muscle through tough finishing jobs that other hand tools have difficulty with. It's also great for large surfaces where using a card scraper or a #80 would be tiresome.

Sorry, I didn't mean to confuse things with my original post. I don't know if this helps.

Hank

[Sam Rain]

I have a LN scraper plane, but I seldom use it. It is capable of removing a thicker shaving than a #80, but I think the purpose is to remove as little as possible to get a finished surface. The flattening that requires thick shavings is done with a bench plane before the final scraping operation; but as always there are exceptions. I made my bench top from a Bally Block maple lamination. When I flattened it with bench planes, I got a fair amount of tear out. The LN scraper plane came to the rescue. It took fairly thick shavings (as compared to card scraper shavings) until I got rid of the tear out. Then I adjusted it for a really fine cut for the finished surface which it handled with ease - no tearout. The weight of the plane and the thickness of the blade muscle through tough finishing jobs that other hand tools have difficulty with. It's also great for large surfaces where using a card scraper or a #80 would be tiresome.

Sorry, I didn't mean to confuse things with my original post. I don't know if this helps.

Hank

Not at all. I'm new to the world of scrapers and planes so I was just surprised at all the different types and styles. but thanks to you guys for sharing with me. I'll be researching and looking into all these tools now.

[Ray Knight]

I'm confused. A card scraper is sharpened with a burnisher and a turned edge. Are stanley 80 sharpened the same way? How is a scraper plane sharpened? If like a plane, at what angle? Ray

[Phillip Pattee]

The Stanley 80 cabinet scraper has a 45 degree bevel on the blade whereas your regular card scraper does not. Some sharpen the #80 just like they would a plane blade, others do use a burnisher to turn a burr on it. I've tried both and had better results turning a burr so I'm in the second camp.

[Sam Yerardi]

I use the 45 deg route

[Alfred Cole]

I have card scrapers but so far I find them difficult to keep sharp on the very hard awkward grained Australian woods. There is a plane maker here in Oz, H N T Gordon whose wooden planes are a delight to use. The real beauty of their design is the fact that the normal planing angle is 60 degrees, but you can turn the blade around so the angle of attack is 90 degrees and you have a scraper plane. The blades are very thick so there is not the chatter that you can get with more flexible blades. I have successfully scraped newly applied teak veneer on a large table top with no more worry than I would plane softwood. Not just the glue lines but the inevitable woolly surface of new veneer responds well.
Since I have three of his planes from a smoother to a full try plane, all of which have this dual ability I haven't spent much time learning the arcane art of scraper sharpening. Needless to say I have no link to Terry Gordon or his planes except as a user.

[Alex Yeilding]

Some sharpen the #80 just like they would a plane blade, others do use a burnisher to turn a burr on it. I've tried both and had better results turning a burr so I'm in the second camp.

Try both and use what works for you is excellent advice. I used to turn a burr, but seldom used my #80 since I found it hard to control and to set a very fine shaving. Comparing to power tools, it worked fine as a belt sander, but I couldn't get it to act as a finish sander. Then I tried it freshly sharpened without the burr, and prefer the result. But a friend swears he gets a better finish on unruly grain with a burr. YMMV.

While I like the result without the burr, I don't understand how it is cutting the wood, since the blade meets the wood at a negative angle. A burr creates a small positive angle cutting edge, so I understand how it cuts the wood. Anyone seen an explanation of this? See drawing below of what I'm talking about.

scaper.jpg